Sundays In The Kitchen- How to Poach Chicken
I thought it would be fun to start a series of “in the kitchen” posts showing some kitchen techniques, advance meal prep and/or recipes. I am no chef- just a home cook- so these will be simple, “real world” techniques that I use rather than cooking school approved skills!
Sundays tend to be a more relaxed day and a good opportunity to get a jump start on meal preparation for the coming week, so how about we make it Sundays In The Kitchen ?!
Today’s kitchen adventure…
How To Poach Chicken
Poaching is a great method to pre-cook chicken while having it remain tender, flavorful and not dried out! It’s easy, too!
You’ll need a large pot…
Add in chicken breast – I’m using 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast here – and cover with 4 cups chicken broth…
You want to use enough broth to cover the chicken. If you’re a little short on broth, you can add water to cover the rest.
To boost the flavor , I added a bay leaf, ground pepper and ground thyme…
Feel free to use any spices you like! Since I cook a larger batch, I like to keep the flavor on the neutral side so it’s useful for a variety of dishes.
Bring the broth and chicken to a boil, then reduce to a simmer…
Partially cover…
and let simmer for 10 minutes…
After 10 minutes, turn off the heat. Cover completely…
and let chicken sit in the steaming hot broth for 15 –20 minutes.
When it’s done, it will resemble the boiled chicken you have eaten on some horrendous fad diet in the 80’s. What? You never tried the Boiled Chicken and Green Bean Diet?
You didn’t miss anything, trust me. 
But THIS chicken is better… it’s poached. That’s fancier than boiling, so stay with me here.
When chicken is done, remove from its poachy bath and get ready to shred. Not this kind…
We’re eating poached chicken. No need for you, Jillian!
Two dumbells forks is all you need…
Working in small batches, shred the chicken while still warm…
Since I cooked a large batch, I decided to shred half and cube the other…
I bagged and labeled individual portions to be used during the week. The possibilities are endless…salads, soups, tacos, burritos or casseroles!
There’s more! Remember all that broth used to poach the chicken? It’s still useable and even more flavorful, but it needs a little cleaning up.
Place a strainer lined with thick paper towel over a large bowl or wide mouth measuring cup …
Pour the poaching liquid into the strainer…
The paper towel catches all of the “unwanted”…
And you get back what you put in!
All packed up and ready for the deep freeze…
I’m all set for the week! Expect to see lots of chicken 
Have a great day, everyone!
Have you tried poaching chicken? What are your favorite seasonings to use?
Questions? Email me! aloserforlife@gmail.com
28 comments
“Sundays in the Kitchen” – LOVE IT! Great idea, Marisa. Can’t wait to see what’s in store each week.
Great tips and I look forward to more in this series…oh yes I do!!
I’m looking forward to reading more Sundays In The Kitchen posts. You have such good ideas!
I love poaching chicken too – and thyme is my go to seasoning (and I may add some Tabasco to my broth!)
On Sundays I usually bake half a dozen baked potatoes for the week, whether for a breakfast hash, twice baked potatoes later in the week. And I cook up 3 cups of brown rice ahead of time – such a time saver for later in the week!
Marisa Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
That is a GREAT idea, Biz!
Awesome! Need to pach me some chicken now.
Not pach, poach.
Marisa Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
LOL!
Great idea how fun!
i am an avid chicken poacher! i love making a bunch for the week. i also love how you can go straight from frozen to poaching without defrost.
Marisa Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
I didn’t know that, Janetha! Thanks for sharing that tip!
Cool! Thanks for the how to!
Love this series, and thank for the tutorial – I’m going to try this!
Clever, clever! I’m so going to do this – you make it seem so easy and YUMMY! I’m trying this Wednesday – THANK YOU!
Wow – great tutorial, girl!
Thanks for sharing – that looks much easier then I thought!
That is pretty much how I do mine too! I love having bags of ready to go in the freezer. It makes life so much easier.
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Oh thank you thank you thank you!!! I have always wanted to poach chicken!!!
What an AWESOME idea of bagging individual portions out for future use. I’ve got a small turkey I was thinking of doing tomorrow – I’ll do the same with it! Cheers!
Oh thank you so much for this lovely “tutorial!” I do have a question…does poaching the chicken take some of the nutrients out of the chicken? I have heard that boiling and even steaming chicken takes out some of the essential nutrients and vitamins. Is this also true for poaching??
Marisa Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 9:16 pm
Not sure about that, Carolynne. I wouldn’t think it would be much different than any other way of cooking (i.e. baking, grilling). Let me know if you find out about it; I’d be interested to know.
Love this idea! Can’t wait to learn more cooking techniques
Jen
I’m going to try this out. Looks very easy and I bet it is so moist. Looking forward to these Sunday posts!
Great post
– looking forwarding to more Sundays in the Kitchen posts!
LOVE the Sunday in the kitchen post. Looking forward to lots more. I bow at your feet for being so organized and ready for your week. Take care Marisa!!!!
Thanks so much, everyone! So glad you liked it!
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